AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - The Auburn cross country team returns with the FSU Invitational on Friday in Tallahassee, Fla.
The 8k men’s collegiate invite begins at 6:40 a.m. CT, and the women’s collegiate invite follows at 7:10 a.m. at the Apalachee Regional Park.
Auburn cross country coach David Barnett said, “It's going to be very nice. We'll see some familiar faces, but also some people we don't see all the time.
"Both races will have 10 teams from the SEC and ACC. It will be really nice to see where we stack up and how we're making progress.”
The men’s teams that will be competing include Alabama, Auburn, Boston College, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, LSU, and Miami. LSU will not be competing on the women’s field, but the Mississippi State women’s cross country will be in attendance.
This is the Tiger’s first meet since their season kickoff on September 19 where they competed in Nashville, Tenn. at the Commodore Classic.
Couch Barnett expressed optimism when discussing the upcoming match.
“I think the team is finally starting to turn the corner,” Barnett said. “In my mind, I think we were a little bit behind getting back from our strange summer break. But every workout has been a little bit better than the last and I can tell their confidence is building a little bit too. They've been doing really well. I feel like coming up at FSU, on a very familiar course, they're going to run very well.”
Auburn women’s cross country team member Abbey Zane finished the 6k season opener course in 22:45.0 leading the Auburn women. Zane’s new time on the course was nearly 20 seconds faster than her time from last year, and it got her 20th place at the Classic this year.
Auburn’s men’s top finisher in the opener was true freshmen Ryan Kinnane who finished the 8k course with a time of 25:32.1. Coming in 19th overall was senior Jack Rogers with a time of 25:45.3.
The race at Apalachee Regional Park is the second of four meets for the Tigers this season. Auburn cross country will travel to Birmingham on Oct. 16 to race at the UAB Blazer Invitational. They will travel to Baton Rouge, La. to finish their season with the SEC Championships.
